Piano Notes and Stories
by crystallizedwinter
Summary: Jackson Overland and Elsa. The artist and the writer. They're so alike, yet so different. It was your typical love story, boy meets girl, but neither of them ever saw it coming. (For Spring Jelsa Week. Cover image belongs to Frozenblume)
1. Day 1: Comfort

"Anna, for the last time, I am not going to whatever you're trying to drag me off to!" The platinum blonde 22 year old writer swore she could see Anna pouting through the phone. As much as she loved her energetic younger sibling, she found it difficult to follow her sister to every event she tried to arrange. Unlike Anna, she preferred to be alone, perfectly content staying at home and working on her novel.

"Come on Elsa! It's been forever since you last came out with us!" Anna whined. The strawberry blonde was silent for a moment as she thought. "Are you really that busy?" She demanded. If she remembered correctly, she had been venting about her frustrations to their barista cousin, Rapunzel. The open girl was great to talk to, but she couldn't really offer much advice to a stuck writer.

Elsa sighed. Anna seemed really excited about this latest outing. "You know I'm trying to complete my novel Anna." Pressing the backspace buttons several times, she got rid of the last sentence she'd written and tried to think of something better suited for the situation.

"Yeah, but do you actually have anything on that document you claim you're busy typing right now?" Anna asked. Knowing Elsa, she was still having a hard time giving her plot a push.

Elsa scowled. Her sister knew her too well. "Well, no, I have a bit of writers block..." The near blank document glared at her on her laptop screen.

"Great! I expect to see you this weekend." Anna chirped happily without waiting to hear whether the writer had agreed to her invitation or not.

"Wait Anna! I never said I was coming!" Elsa cried out, hoping Anna hadn't hung up the phone already.

"Too late Elsa!" Anna sang. With that, she hung up and Elsa was left in silence.

* * *

Flynn sipped his beer and grinned a lopsided grin at the brown haired man. The man scowled back as Flynn gave his shoulder a friendly punch.

"C'mon Jack. You have to come out with me this Friday! You never get out of your apartment." Jack pushed Flynn's arm off his shoulder, which he had draped around him while he was talking.

"You know how I feel about clubs. Overpriced drinks, girls throwing themselves at me, it's not my thing." Jack leaned back and made his couch pocket deeper, not planning on moving anytime soon. The stunt man intentions meant well, but he wasn't up for the invite. Too many times had Jack saved him from getting beat up. From Merida to the Stabbington brothers, it was inevitable for the brown haired troublemaker to stay out of the path of a fist.

"Yeah, but because you stay here all the time, it's my responsibility to drag you out. You're letting Kristoff down again if you don't come out." Flynn was not letting the 23 year old artist and musician get out of this. Even if he said he was busy, Flynn knew he hasn't sat down at the piano in months. Nor had he touched any of his paintbrushes. The canvas remained the same way it had since that day. The sounds of music hadn't traveled through the halls for much too long.

"Dude, seriously." Flynn looked him dead in his cloudy brown eyes. "You can't stay in here forever. It's been at least 6 months." Even the colour around his apartment had been drained. Not just from his empty canvases, but from his very life. It looked like he was simply living in black and white, with the occasional shade of grey in between.

"6 months and 23 days." Jack said, his cloudy eyes shining. The accident still plagued Jack as if it was yesterday.

Flynn was silent. It was difficult seeing his friend like this. "Look. Just come with me just this once. Who knows, you might just enjoy it." He patted the artist's shoulder, even if he wasn't listening. Pushing himself off the couch, he left the man spiraling, lost, in his own thoughts.

* * *

"Um, Anna?" Elsa questioned as they walked into the incredibly noisy and stuffy atmosphere of the club. "Are you sure this was a good thing to wear?"

"Of course!" Anna said happily. It was clear Elsa was underdressed. Dressed in simple summer dress and flats with a nice cardigan, she was much too casual for the nice semi formal dresses Anna and Punzie were wearing. She knew she should have ran back inside to change when she saw Anna's dress. Anna had insisted she was just dressing up for her boyfriend but it was clear now that that wasn't the case.

"Hey Anna!" A deep voice called. The two girls turned to see Kristoff, Anna's boyfriend. Anna smiled brightly and leaped into his arms.

"Rapunzel and the others are already here. They're all at the table." Taking Anna's hand, they walked over to the group.

"Hey, Kris!" Rapunzel called when she saw the tall blond man approach. She stood up and gave Anna a hug before turning to Elsa.

"It's about time you joined us!" She giggled, hugging her tightly. Elsa hugged her back, but noticed beside Flynn was a brown haired stranger that seemed oddly out of place. He sat quietly in the corner of the table as everyone exchanged small talk. Even as Elsa took a seat next to him, he didn't seem to acknowledge her. She tried to figure him out more, but she couldn't see his eyes, as they were covered by his hair.

"Anna, who's that?" She said as quietly as she could in a noisy club.

"Who?" Anna mouthed.

Elsa pointed to the man, who still wasn't showing any signs of noticing her.

"Jackson. Jackson Overland. He's one of Rapunzel and Flynn's friends." Anna said in Elsa's ear. "He doesn't get out much apparently. It's the first time he's come with us."

Elsa nodded. That was probably why he seemed so out of place. He was like her. "Punzie must have convinced him." She thought, smiling to herself. That girl could convince Flynn to dance, so convincing what she assumed to be a case of anti socialness was no problem.

"Hey!" Flynn called loudly. "Now that everyone's here, why don't we grab some drinks?" Anna nodded excitedly and quickly rattled of what she wanted. Everyone seemed to know what they wanted, even Jackson.

"You want something fruity, right Els?" Anna asked as Flynn memorized their orders. Elsa nodded, not really sure about what she was planning. She watched as Anna and Flynn walked towards the bar to place their orders as Rapunzel dragged Kristoff onto the dance floor. That left Jackson, who hadn't said a work other than his order, and Elsa.

"It's awfully noisy in here, isn't it?" Elsa said, trying to start a conversation. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear as she waited for an answer.

Jackson ran his hand through his hair and looked up. "Yeah. I've never liked clubs. Too loud and too crowded." Pausing to accept his drink from Flynn, he turned back to Elsa who now also had a drink in her hand. "You seem slightly out of place, no offense..." He trailed off.

Elsa laughed lightly. "I'm Elsa." Jackson held out his hand. "Jackson, but call me Jack." Elsa nodded and took his hand. "I don't usually come along with my sister on her shenanigans. I'd much rather be at home working on my novel." She confessed.

"So that explains it." Jack thought. He had wondered why the pretty platinum blond had been glancing in his direction. "You're a writer? Is that why you were staring at me earlier?" He asked.

Elsa blushed. She didn't think he'd noticed her glances. When he had brushed his hair out of his face, she had been too distracted by his eyes. People say eyes are the window to the soul, and Elsa, being a writer, loved to look at peoples' eyes. His eyes were a lovely shade of chocolate brown, but she could tell they were clouded and stormy.

"You were trying to read me, weren't you?" Jack asked. Elsa was about to apologize, but he continued. "I'd rather be at home too, working on music, or a piece of art."

This fascinated Elsa. She often wondered how musicians dealt with the process of composing. "You're a musician? How do you do it?"

Jack smiled. This girl was genuinely curious. "Most of the time it comes naturally, but lately I haven't had any inspiration at all." His voice nearly betrayed him at the end the sentence. He regained his composure as Elsa's face lit up.

"Then you and I are the same." Elsa said, smiling. "I've had an awful case of writers block lately." Jack smiled again, and Elsa decided she liked the smile of Jackson Overland very much. It was boyish, and cute, she admitted to herself. It was much warmer and inviting than the scowl he had on earlier.

"Sometimes I wish ideas would come more naturally to me." He said, sighing. "Then again, art is never easy

Elsa laughed. "Rapunzel always says I over think things too much." She took a sip of her drink. "What kind of music do you play?"

"What do you think?" He asked. "You like reading people, don't you? See if you can guess." He smirked, daring her to try.

"Um... Blues?" Elsa guessed. He seemed like the blues type.

Jack shook his head. "Wrong. I lean more to the classical side." Glancing over at Elsa's drink, he noticed a substantial amount was gone. "You should take it easy on those things," he warned. "They have more alcohol in them than you think."

"What?" Elsa teased. "You think I can't stomach a little bit of alcohol?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you later." Jack sang.

* * *

"Elsa, it's time to go!" Anna called, walking over. Elsa glanced up at her, confused.

"But it hasn't even been that long. Where is everyone?" Elsa tried to find Rapunzel, Flynn and the rest of gang in the club.

Anna chuckled. "Either you've had too much to drink or you've guys have been geeking out for wayyy too long."

"Hey!" Jack protested. "We were having a civilized conversation unlike you guys who have been dancing and doing lord knows what."

"It's called having fun." Anna said, sticking her tongue out at him. Elsa pulled her phone out and was shocked when she realized what time it was.

"3am? Anna, you were right. Where are the others?"

"Punzie dragged Flynn home after he had too much to drink. Kristoff is driving you home Jack." He nodded and helped Elsa up.

"Ack." Elsa stood up and immediately lost her balance. A strong pair of arms caught her and she looked dazedly into a pair of brown orbs.

"I warned you about that." Jack said smiling. Elsa blushed at how close they were. She regained her balanced and the three of them walked out to the parking lot where Kristoff was waiting.

"I'll see you around?" Elsa called as Anna tried to pull her into the car.

"Maybe." Jack called as they drove away.

Elsa smiled and sat down on passenger seat.

"Um Elsa?" Anna said as she started the car. "You have a really weird look on your face."

Elsa just smiled even brighter and they drove off.

* * *

 _Unknown Number_

Hey Elsa, I just wanted to let you know that I had a really nice time talking to you. I didn't get a chance to thank you. I hope you didn't mind me asking Kristoff for your number. I hope to talk to you again soon.

Jack


	2. Day 2: (Not) Holding Hands

Day 2: (Not) Holding Hands

 _J- Good morning._

Elsa reached over to grab her phone as it pinged with a new text. She laughed to herself.

 _E- It's almost lunch, what are you talking about?_

 _J- That's the life of an artist. You live at night._

 _E- You're crazy._

 _J- Sure._

 _E- Have you eaten anything?_

 _J- No._

 _E- Go eat before I come over there and force feed you._

Jack chuckled at the threat. It'd been three weeks since he'd first met Elsa. Over the past few weeks, they'd developed an easy friendship that spoke through text messages. Occasionally they'd see each other when they went out with the gang, and they constantly vented to each other the frustrations of being unable to create what they wanted. Jack found Elsa to be an easy person to go to when he was stuck. She understood how he felt, and was always there to lift him back up. He had felt more relaxed and more comfortable than he had in ages. She was always worrying about him, though, which he found extremely sweet. Constantly scolding him about eating properly, she was someone he could depend on.

 _J- I'll eat some cereal, k?_

 _E- Not lunch, but that'll have to do. I'm going out with my sister. I'll talk to you later. Don't forget to eat!_

* * *

Anna snapped her fingers in front of Elsa's face. "Earth to Elsa?" She joked. Knocking her hand gently on Elsa's head, she frowned. "I don't think there's anyone home." Elsa waved her hands away.

"Sorry, what were you saying Anna? Is something wrong?" Elsa sipped her cup of tea and looked at Anna expectantly.

"Nothing you know. I just invited my sister out for a drink and she accepted, which was weird, and now she's spacing out. Also, she been joining me more and more when I invite her out." Feigning a surprised look, Anna asked, "What, is there something wrong?"

Elsa swatted her on the head gently. "What, can't I enjoy some time with my sister?"

"No, I'm not saying you can't, but you never go out with me." Anna paused, taking a long drink of her milkshake. "Does this have anything to do with Punzie's artist friend?"

Elsa almost spit her tea out. "Of course not, that's ridiculous!" She said quickly. "I've only just met him!"

"Sure sure," Anna said, rolling her eyes. "That's what they all say." She grinned mischievously, knowing Elsa felt differently.

Elsa waved her statement away. "Anyways, are you going to Flynn's party on Sunday?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Of course!" Anna said excitedly. "It's supposed to be a BBQ, right?"

Elsa frowned. "Isn't it going to rain...?" She had checked the weather earlier during one of her many blank periods. Writing had become slightly easier with Jack available to vent to, but something was missing from her writing. Unfortunately for her, Elsa couldn't figure out what it was.

"Don't worry so much. I'm sure it'll be fine." Anna took a sip of her drink. "Speaking of fine, how's the story? Is that also coming along?"

Elsa smiled sheepishly. "Better, but I hit another rock."

Anna grinned. "I'm sure once you talk to _you know who_ all your problems will disappear. Poof!" Anna waved her hands to prove her point.

" _Anna!_ "

* * *

"You're going to Flynn's party right?" Jack asked later that day when Elsa called him. As Anna suspected, she did call him to express her frustrations. "Something's missing, you know?" She had said.

"Yeah, I don't get much of a choice. Anna and Rapunzel you know?"

"It's the same with Flynn and Kristoff. Do you have a ride to the party?"

"Well, I was planning on asking Anna..."

"I can drive you."

"Won't that be a hassle? I live in the opposite direction of the party. You live pretty close to Flynn right?"

"It's no big deal. Just text me your address and I'll pick you up around 5." Elsa agreed to, but she still didn't like the idea that she might be burdening him. She knew he was still dealing with some other unknown burden. His eyes betrayed him, showing how troubled he was. She wished he would tell her, but asking about it might cause their friendship to crack, and that wasn't something she wanted. Jackson was, in her opinion, a man with good intentions and a kind soul. It disappointed her to know he was hiding something big that caused him distress.

"Don't worry," She told herself. "If he doesn't want to say anything, that's his decision. He'll open up in time, if he wants to."

* * *

On the Sunday, Jack drove over to pick Elsa up. After several texts reassuring Elsa that he wasn't lost, he arrived at her apartment. Letting her know he had arrived, he waited patiently as she came down to meet him. Her perfect form appeared in the doorway and Jack gave her a wide smile. Elsa cast him a worried look in return.

"It's raining pretty hard." She called, not stepping outside. "Are you sure you still want to go?" Elsa cast an uneasy glance at the motorcycle. Surely her outfit would get soaked and ruined. "Aren't you wet?"

Jack's face softened. That was Elsa. Worried about him as always.

"You'll get sick! Get in here. I'm calling Rapunzel to tell her we aren't coming. She's probably going to reschedule the party some other time anyways. How is Flynn expecting to have a BBQ in this weather?" Jack shrugged and parked his motorcycle. He hurried inside, following Elsa into her apartment. As he stepped into her apartment, he noted how clean and orderly everything was. So different from his apartment.

"Do you want a change of clothes?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Jack had been admiring how nice Elsa looked in a dress. He hadn't seen her in one since their first meeting. She looked lovely in casual clothes, how could she not look even more beautiful in a dress?

Elsa disappeared to dig up some clothes. Jack was left in the living room, still slightly starstruck. He could only imagine what she'd look like in an evening gown. She would be breathtaking.

"Here. They were my dad's." She studied him. "They should fit okay. Bathroom is on your right." She pointed to the white door.

Jack nodded. When he was done, he found Elsa on the couch, changed. He was a bit disappointed. She had looked stunning in that dress. Not that she didn't look pretty any more; she could make anything look good.

"I called Rapunzel. She said she canceled the party. I thought we could watch some movies instead." Elsa said, patting the couch. "Does Lord of the Rings sound good?"

Jack looked at her blankly. "Ah, I haven't watched those movies yet." He joined her on the couch, and braced himself.

Elsa wrinkled her nose. "What?! We've got to watch all three then! We've got time." Elsa rushed to put the DVD in. Jack laughed. This was going to be a lot of fun.

* * *

"Elsa?" Jack asked quietly. There was no response, other than the quiet breathing. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and was now snuggled in the crook of his neck. He thought about moving her to her room, or grabbing a pillow and blanket. Just as he was about to get up, Elsa fingers laced with Jack's. He face turned a bright red and was thankful Elsa was sleeping. Deciding not to disturb her sleep, he reached carefully for the remote, turned off the TV, and leaned against Elsa. Soon, he too was asleep.

* * *

The next morning was awkward. Really awkward. With a series of red faces and untangling of limbs, they both managed get up. A flurry of apologies followed, but both managed to figure out it was okay.

Somehow, Elsa found herself going over to his apartment the next week, doing the exact same thing. This time, they were watching some of Jack's collection.

"Have you watched the newest Disney movie? Big Hero 6? It's quite good you know." Jack sorted through his DVDs, trying to find something good.

"Well no," she stammered. "Animated movies are for children, aren't they?" Jack smirked and walked over to the shelf of DVDs.

"Clearly you haven't watched How to Train Your Dragon."

Half a tissue box and three hours later, Elsa was sobbing into Jack's shirt, making it completely wet with tears.

"Why is it so sad?" She asked, dabbing her eyes. Elsa glared at him as he laughed.

"Don't even bother denying it. I bet you cried too the first time you watched it." Elsa said sticking her tongue out at him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she dared him to deny it.

"Oh please, cool guys don't cry at animated movies." Jack scoffed, pretending to be offended by Elsa's comment.

"Ah, so you did cry." Jack frowned. "Just kidding!" Elsa said, laughing as he pouted.

"We are so watching another sad movie." Jack said, reaching for the next disc despite Elsa's protests.

* * *

And so the routine began. Jack would come over to Elsa's apartment, and she would come over to his. They would marathon movies late into the night, and the mornings would always begin with a series of red faces and apologies.

Flynn would always tease Jack. "Were you guys really holding hands?"

Rapunzel would always coo and say, "That's so cute! Elsa never does that with anyone else."

None of them would listen to Jack's protests as he insisted, "We're _not_ holding hands."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews!**


End file.
